RE-EDITING LYLY FOR THE MODERN READER, OR THE CASE OF MOTHER BOMBIE'S STOOL

Though the dramatic work of John Lyly appears to pose few problems for the editor in comparison with the work of other late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century writers, it in fact presents a number of difficulties that throw light on the far-reaching ramifications of editorial intervention. This essay explores the issues raised by interpolated directions designed to allow the reader to visualize the stage spectacles that the dramatist engineers, and the way in which such interventions may shape the superstructure of biographical, critical, and contextual commentary founded upon the text.